loss of pet in family

Noelle - posted on 01/19/2010
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Grandma and Grandpa tragically lost 2 (of3) of their dogs within the past week. My son (2yrs old) frequently visits their house and adores the dogs. How do I explain to him that they will not be returning, mostly to make the grieving process for Grandma and Grandpa easier. I can envision him running through their hallways calling for the dogs.

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Michelle - posted on 01/19/2010

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How sad!! My parents lost one of their dogs recently and we had the same problem. My son loves their dogs, so we just sat down with him before we went over there and told him that Harley was a very sick dog and so he died. He went bye-bye and he's not coming back, and Grandma and Grandpa are very sad about it. Your parents will understand if he asks for the dogs, they know he's too young to fully understand, so I don't think it will be a huge deal if they have to explain it to him as well. In fact, my mom told me that it helped her because it reminded her that even though she missed her dog, she needed to focus on her grandson and help him understand what was happening too.